geocentric latitude

American  

noun

1. Geography. the angular distance between the plane formed by the equator and a line extending from a point on the earth's surface to its center. Compare geodetic latitude.

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geocentric latitude Scientific  

1. The angular distance between a point on the Earth's surface and the equator, using the center of the Earth as the vertex. It differs from geodetic latitude in that it accounts for the ellipsoidal shape of the Earth rather than considering it as a perfect sphere.

2. Compare geodetic latitude

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Example Sentences

Geocentric latitude is the angular distance of a place from the equator, as corrected for the oblateness of the earth's form; in other words, it is the geographical latitude diminished by the angle of the vertical.

From Project Gutenberg